Scattering Estimation Method and Image Processor

1. A scattering estimation method comprising: acquiring positron emission tomography measurement data and absorption coefficient data; generating a radioactive image from the positron emission tomography measurement data and the absorption coefficient data; estimating a single scattering distribution of radiation in the radioactive image from the radioactive image and the absorption coefficient data; determining a convolution kernel for smoothing the single scattering distribution based on a scattered radiation index value of the radioactive image; and fitting, to the positron emission tomography measurement data, a scattering distribution smoothed by applying the convolution kernel to the single scattering distribution.

2. The scattering estimation method according to claim 1 , wherein the scattered radiation index value is a scatter fraction; and the determining of the convolution kernel includes determining the convolution kernel based on a result of comparison between scatter fractions of radioactive images smoothed using a plurality of parameters that characterize the convolution kernel.

3. The scattering estimation method according to claim 2 , wherein the determining of the convolution kernel includes determining the convolution kernel based on magnitudes of changes of the scatter fractions with changes of the plurality of parameters.

4. The scattering estimation method according to claim 2 , wherein the convolution kernel defines a weight distribution specified by a parameter relating to dispersion; and the smoothing of the single scattering distribution is performed by a weighted average filter using the convolution kernel.

5. The scattering estimation method according to claim 1 , wherein the estimating of the single scattering distribution from the radioactive image and the absorption coefficient data includes estimating the single scattering distribution by a single scattering simulation method.

6. The scattering estimation method according to claim 1 , wherein the estimating of the single scattering distribution from the radioactive image and the absorption coefficient data includes estimating the single scattering distribution by a Monte Carlo simulation method.

7. An image Processor comprising: a controller; and an image data acquirer configured to acquire positron emission tomography measurement data and absorption coefficient data; wherein the controller is configured to: generate a radioactive image from the positron emission tomography measurement data and the absorption coefficient data; estimate a single scattering distribution from the radioactive image and the absorption coefficient data; determine a convolution kernel for smoothing the single scattering distribution based on a scattered radiation index value of the radioactive image; and fit, to the positron emission tomography measurement data, a scattering distribution smoothed by applying the convolution kernel to the single scattering distribution.